


Unexpected Gifts

by flightinflame



Category: X-Men (Alternate Timeline Movies)
Genre: Charles Xavier in a Wheelchair, Domestic Fluff, Erik Lehnsherr Loves Charles Xavier, Erik is a Sweetheart, Family Fluff, Fluff and Angst, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-12 10:41:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29383629
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/flightinflame/pseuds/flightinflame
Summary: Charles wakes to find Erik missing. He's left a letter with no answers, and Emma isn't talking. But Erik returns, and when he does he isn't alone, and Charles's life changes.
Relationships: Erik Lehnsherr & Pietro Maximoff & Wanda Maximoff, Erik Lehnsherr/Charles Xavier, Pietro Maximoff & Wanda Maximoff
Comments: 12
Kudos: 84
Collections: X-Men X-Traordinaire's Cherik Valentine's Day Exchange





	Unexpected Gifts

**Author's Note:**

  * For [UisceOneLove](https://archiveofourown.org/users/UisceOneLove/gifts).



> Thank you for the lovely prompts! I hope you like your gift!

Charles woke at the large amount of concern that was radiating off of Hank - more than he had felt from the other man since he had first woken up at the mansion and faced the news that he wasn't going to walk again. The sheer level of concern drowned out his attempts at reading what the thoughts were, and meant he had to open his eyes.

"Hank?"

"Erik's gone. He took a car," Hank muttered, still looking small even in his blue form. "He left this." Hank held out an envelope, which had Charles's name on it.

Charles took it, trying to ignore the way his fingers were shaking slightly. He had to be calm. This would be okay, it couldn't be that Erik had left him. Things had been difficult recently, for both of them. But they weren't alone. They had each other, and they were recovering. Erik, from the magnitude of what had happened on the beach, and Charles from the injuries he had suffered. Charles didn't feel good, but he felt better with each day. The two of them had started to rebuild their relationship, and even if it wasn't yet back to where it had been, there was hope.

Which meant Erik disappearing off was a surprise.

Charles took the envelope, turning it over in his hands, and then nodding at Hank. "Thank you for bringing me this." He swallowed. "Is there anything else?"

"Frost's in her diamond form," Hank answered.

"Could you send her in?"

"Of course..." Hank scampered off. Charles knew he needed to open the envelope, but he wanted to hear from Emma first, see if there was any sense in what had happened, any explanation the other telepath could offer. He propped himself up on his pillows, trying to give an air of control.

When she strode in in her diamond form, he felt her heart sink. He was sure that she knew, and he was sure that she wasn't going to tell him. He thought of Russia, of the way that he and Erik had been able to pry information from her. He was helpless without him.

"What happened?"

"That's not my place to tell you, sugar."

"Do you know if he's coming back?" Charles asked, hearing the way his voice shook. He didn't want that. He didn't want to appear weak, appear helpless. Not in front of Emma. Not in front of anyone, really.

"That's his choice, sugar. Not mine, and not yours." Emma shrugged a little, the light rippling through her body. "I can't make him come back. And maybe you could, but you shouldn't."

Charles could feel the fight leave him. He didn't like it, and she was right. He could reach out using Cerebro and force Erik to come back. But he wouldn't.

"Thank you."

She walked away, head held high. He opened the envelope, telling himself he was being foolish. It was so unlike Erik to just step away. The past few months they'd been rebuilding all they had, and it had been based on the idea of trust. Of sharing what they knew, of working together. Erik had made his wheelchair. Listened to his problems. And he had listened to Erik's as well. They were a team.

That's why it hurt so much to open the envelope and see what Erik had written.  
_Charles,  
I am sorry. A ~~problem~~ situation has arisen. I hope to come back soon. But I can't tell you yet when it will be, or if you will want me when I get there. Just know that you're a good man. A man who has taught me that I have to take responsibility for my actions. I hope we will meet again.  
Yours. Always.  
Erik Lehnsherr._

Charles brushed his fingers over the words, trying to decipher their meaning. He wanted to move into his chair, get down to Cerebro, and force Erik to give him answers. But he knew Emma had been right. He didn't get to choose when Erik came back. The only one who could make those choices was Erik, and if Erik was being stubborn, he just had to deal with the consequences. One day, Erik would come home. 

He just had to be ready for him.

Three weeks passed. Charles hated every day, missing Erik like an open wound. But he made himself continue, made himself succeed. He let Hank help him with his exercises. Researched mutants and put together his plans for a school. He wanted to make progress and he was going to do it with or without Erik.

His bed felt empty. He felt lonely and abandoned. But he wasn't going to stop.

He could feel Erik's mind, anxiety radiating, even before there was a knock on the door. Erik had returned, and he'd brought with him other brilliant mutant minds.

Charles wheeled towards the entrance, his thoughts brushing Erik's own. There was so much worry shining through, worry that he didn't understand. _You came home. Open the door, Erik. I missed you._

 _I'm sorry, Charles._ Erik answered. Then the door opened, and Charles frowned a little at what he saw. Erik was standing in the doorway, two children of about three years old clutching his legs, a bag in his hands. One of the children was visibly a mutant, with brilliant silver hair, and the other one had the same mutant glow to her mind, even if her gift wasn't obvious. From Erik, Charles could feel a mixture of hope and concern shining outwards, desperation mixed with belief. "I'm sorry. I didn't... please can they stay here?"

"Of course..." Charles wheeled backwards to give them room to enter the building. "Hello you two, it's good to meet you. What are your names?"

The two of them exchanged nervous looks, and Erik repeated the question in Polish.

It was the silver-haired boy who answered. "I'm Pietro. This is Wanda." He swallowed, clutching Erik's wrist. "You're Charles, yes?"

"I'm Charles. Welcome. Come inside." He wheeled back, shooting Erik a glance. He couldn't understand why Erik had disappeared for so long and then appeared with these children - whatever problems he'd had to face to find them, he would have been better off with Charles's assistance. _Hank, can I borrow you?_

 _I just need a few minutes to..._ Hank replied, before sending back an affirmative. Charles didn't have to wait for long until Hank appeared. Charles was concerned in case the children were frightened by Hank's appearance, but the little girl smiled enthusiastically and the boy ran over to wrap himself around Hank's leg. 

"These two are Wanda and Pietro," Charles informed him. "I wondered if you would be able to show them around? And they can pick a bedroom each on the East Corridor, near mine and Erik's."

Hank nodded, reaching out to take Wanda's hand and walking with Pietro clung to his leg. Once the children were out of earshot, Charles turned to Erik. 

"What's going on?"

"Nothing," Erik lied, and then swallowed dryly. "Emma didn't tell you?" 

"She's been stubbornly diamond since you left."

"Oh." Erik nodded, taking a couple of slow deep breaths before he spoke. "Those are my children."

"I did think they looked like you," Charles agreed, thinking of how much of Erik he could see in the shape of Wanda's nose and Pietro's chin. "You never told me-"

"You're not angry?"

"We've known each other for barely a year. Those two children... are clearly older than that, and were conceived even further back. Now, I am sorry you never mentioned them, but-"

"I didn't know they existed," Erik interrupted. "Not until Emma told me. And then... she said that their mother had fallen sick, and they'd ended up in an orphanage. They didn't want children like them there. They'd seen enough of their gifts to believe them evil, and I had... I had to do something, you know? I couldn't leave them to suffer..."

"Of course not."

"You're not angry I brought them here?"

"No. I am a little angry that you didn't see fit to tell me where you were going. If something had happened to you, then they would have been left vulnerable... you should have told me, but-"

"But they're not ours."

Charles gave Erik the most scornful look he could manage, one that had made trainee lecturers cry. Erik frowned slightly in response.

"Erik. There was nothing you could have done. You didn't know these children existed, and they were born before we had even met. I am a little possessive of you, I will admit, but not to the extent of wanting to deprive children of their father. You love them. Even without reading your mind, I can see it. And I know how much family means to you, Erik."

"They are... they are perfect. I was so prepared for you to be angry. To see their existence as another harm I had done to you, but-"

"But you care about them, Erik. They're your children. Your family. I'd never ask you to abandon them." Part of Charles was horrified at Erik having that thought, but the rest of him that managed to be logical was aware of the horrors the world had thrown at Erik. Knew that Erik's fears were born of his own guilt.

"They can stay?"

"Erik, I would not make children homeless, even those of someone I hated. And instead these are the children of the man I love. Your children can stay. One day, perhaps, they will be our children."

"I'd like that," Erik answered, leaning in and closing the gap between them with a kiss.

That was how it started. Charles accepted the children into his home and his life, introduced them to the others, and encouraged them to feel at home. He got used to the chaos that followed in their wake, Pietro rushing around underfoot as Wanda tried to learn how to use her power to get the results she wanted.

It took a few days for the children to become confident, a few weeks for Erik to truly believe that Charles wasn't angry at him. Charles got used to having the children around, bringing in their wake their own unique brand of chaos. He got used to waking up to their sweet minds approaching, helping them get ready for the day, ending the day by telling them a bedtime story. Thanks to Wanda's gifts and Pietro's enthusiasm, Erik seemed to be faced with a never-ending list of problems, the likes of which were perhaps new to the human race.

Emma was, of course, the opposite of helpful. She chose to give Pietro some Turkish delight - Charles suspected the symbolism amused her. But what was much less amusing was trying to chase after Pietro as he zipped around the house, powered by a mixture of sugar and candy. Emma watched the whole proceeding with a slight smirk on her lips.

Charles watched as Pietro careered off down another corridor. He couldn't hope to keep up with the boy, but his telepathy was useful to direct Erik, giving him some guidance as to where Pietro might next appear. The boy's mind was hard to get a telepathic grip on, but Erik's mind was familiar enough that Charles could keep him informed and still try to track him.

Eventually their plan worked, the boy careening into Erik's leg, and getting picked up and carried over one shoulder. 

Charles smiled at the little boy, who was wriggling. "Put me down Papa, put me down!" the boy insisted. As soon as his feet were on the ground, he raced over to Charles, climbing onto his lap. "Charles?"

"Yes, Pietro?"

"Will you be our daddy and make sure that Papa doesn't chase us?"

"I can be your daddy," Charles answered carefully. "I can't promise about your Papa though. He worries about you when you go so fast."

"But it's fun..." Pietro whined. Charles nodded, taking a moment to press his face into the soft silver hair of the boy, and then reaching out for Wanda's mind when he heard a distant explosion - one of the girl's attempts with her power. Charles checked there was no immediate danger, then sent her a telepathic message asking for her to come over. 

It didn't take long for her to arrive, rushing up to tangle in Charles's arms for an embrace as well. Charles embraced her tightly, and settled her against him, her brother already bouncing beside him. He looked at Erik, and he felt himself smiling, full of pride and relief at what they had built together.

Erik's hand reached for his own. _I think you're their favourite._

 _Maybe. It's okay. You're my favourite._ Charles thought back fondly, before ruffling Pietro's hair. "Do you two want to help me set the table?" His children nodded, and Charles let them lead the way, his heart full of love for his perfect family.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed it, please do comment.


End file.
